DOCSLIB.ORG

Leon Moses and Walter Isard: Collaborators, Rivals Or Antagonists?

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Leon Moses and Walter Isard: Collaborators, Rivals Or Antagonists? Leon Moses and Walter Isard: Collaborators, Rivals or Antagonists? David Boyce Archivist, Regional Science Association International Program Chair or Co-Chair, North American Regional Science Meetings, 1970-1989 Ph.D., Regional Science, University of Pennsylvania, 1965 Objectives of this talk • Examine contributions of Leon to regional science Research on interindustry models and industrial location theory Participation in the Regional Science Association Contributions to the field of regional science • Explore the relationship between Leon and Walter Isard, founder of regional science LEON MOSES • Born: New York City 1924 • Ohio State University B.A. 1945 • Harvard University M.A. 1950 Ph.D. 1952 • Part-time and visiting teaching appointments 1946-52 • Research Associate, Harvard Econ. Res. Project 1952-59 • Assistant Professor, Harvard 1957-59 • Associate Professor of Economics, Northwestern 1959-63 – Assistant Director, Research, Transportation Center 1959-63 • Professor of Economics, Northwestern 1963-05 • Director, Transportation Center 1974-79 • Professor Emeritus of Economics, Northwestern 2005 • Died: age 88, Evanston, Illinois 2013 WALTER ISARD • Born: Philadelphia 1919 • Temple University A.B. 1939 1935-39 • University of Chicago 1941-42 • Harvard University M.A. 1941 Ph.D. 1943 • Social Science Research Council 1942-43, 1946-48 • Part-time and visiting teaching appointments 1946-49 • Research Fellow, Associate, Econ. Research Project Lecturer, Harvard University 1949-53 • Associate Professor of Reg. Economics, M.I.T. 1953-56 • Professor of Economics & Reg. Science, UPenn 1956-79 • Professor of Economics & Reg. Science, Cornell 1979-89 • Professor Emeritus of Economics, Cornell 1989 • Died: age 91, Drexel Hill, Pennsylvania 2010 Leon Moses ~ 1960 Walter Isard ~ 1960 What is Regional Science? • A field of the social sciences concerned with analytical approaches to urban-regional problems: location theory or spatial economics; location, transportation & migration analysis; urban land use; interindustry analysis; environmental & ecological analysis; resource management; urban-regional policy; geog. information systems; spatial data analysis en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Regional_Science. • Synthesis of aspects of economics, geography, urban planning, transportation and environmental engineering related to urban and regional systems • Focus on theory and methods of regional analysis When did Regional Science begin? • Following WW II, interest in theory, methods of analysis, data, computing and solution of practical problems of regional expansion was increasing in many social sciences and urban-regional planning • Younger scholars in these fields began meeting and discussing the formation of an association. • Walter Isard was a young economist at the Harvard Economic Research Project of W. W. Leontief (1906-1999), a pioneer in the use of industrial data to create a linear model of the interindustry transactions in national and regional economies • Being young and very active, in 1954 Walter motivated a group of social scientists to found the ‘Regional Science Association.’ What did this have to do with Leon? • Leon, a graduate student in economics at Harvard, became interested in Leontief’s research, and was hired as a research assistant about 1950 • the future directions of Leontief’s research were: add dynamics, and add regions • Isard was a research associate in Leontief’s Project studying regional and interregional extensions of Leontief’s national economic model • Leon opted to work with Walter on the development of an interregional, interindustry model What did Leon contribute to the Project? • Interregional input-output: a method for analysis of regional interdependence, Ph.D. thesis, 1952. • ‘Stability of interregional trading patterns and input- output analysis,’ American Economic Review 45 (5) 1955; Appendix with John Fei. • Today, the Chenery-Moses concept is widely cited as a design for an interregional, interindustry model. • ‘A General Equilibrium Model of Production, Interregional Trade, and Location of Industry,’ Review of Economics and Statistics 42 (4) 1960. What were Leon’s other activities at Harvard? • Critical reviews of research of regional scientists • ‘Location and the theory of production,’ Quarterly Journal of Economics, 72 (2) 1958 • Teaching in regional economics and location theory • Coauthored with W. Isard, et al, Methods of Regional Analysis, Wiley, 1960: – Chapter 5, Interregional Flow Analysis and Balance of Payments Statements, 122-181; – Chapter 6 B, Regional Cycle and Multiplier Analysis, 184-189; – Chapter 8 G, Alternative Interregional and Regional Input-output Models, 344-34 (based on Chenery-Moses) • Each of these items deserves some explanation. Leon’s interactions with Walter and others • W. Isard and R. E. Kuenne, ‘Impact of steel upon the Greater New York-Philadelphia industrial region,’ Review of Economics and Statistics 35 (4), 1953, partially based on Kuenne’s Ph.D. thesis and other studies of Isard and his students. • Purpose: ‘development in the theory of agglomeration and of the broad spatial clustering of all economic activities by grafting on to … location theory a modified regional input-output schema. Viewed from a different standpoint, we attempt an impact study, wherein the direct and indirect repercussions of the location of a basic industry in a region are evaluated.’ • Two years later, Leon published a four-page critique of the paper. One can only speculate why. For example, he wrote: – Establishment of a new industry in an area may cause other industries to expand … and also creates additional demand. Any attempt to predict the effect on regional economic development of a new industry must analyze carefully these forward and backward relationships. – Their ‘idea of combining input-output and locational analysis in this endeavor is a good one. Their pioneering effort to implement this idea … contains a number of theoretical failings. The most outstanding is the almost complete absence of any locational analysis. • Robert Kuenne responded with many points; one of the most salient was: – I fail to see what use the results will be unless an interregional model in which prices have a true economic function is available for such projections. Nevertheless, Moses’ suggestion is provocative and should prove fruitful when … tools of analysis have reached the state implicitly assumed. • Two years after publication of Isard’s Location and Space Economy, Leon published ‘Location and the theory of production,’ QJE 72 (2), 1958, giving the paper at the Regional Science Association Meetings – My objective is to place the theory of location within the main body of economic theory. I wish to make the theory of location an integral part of the theory of production and to investigate the implications of factor substitution for the locational equilibrium of the firm. My main conclusion is that profit maximization requires a proper adjustment of output, input combination, location, and price. Optimizing values of these three variables can be determined with analytical tools derived directly from traditional economic theory. – In analyzing the location problem of an individual firm, Weber, Hoover, and Isard begin by assuming that there are no geographic variations in the prices or qualities of inputs at alternative sources. From this assumption they derive two conclusions: (1) that there are no geographic differentials in production costs, and hence, that (2) the optimum location is the point of minimum transportation costs. – However, the two conclusions do not follow from the aforementioned assumption alone. They also involve an additional one, that the production function is linear. There are no alternative sources for inputs in the example with which we have been working. However, we have permitted factor substitution and therefore have altered the conditions for optimality in location.’ – Leon’s point was not unknown to Walter; however, he had proceeded along the lines of the classical analyses. This point was discussed in my graduate course on Location Theory in 1961, as documented by marginal notes in my copy of Isard’s text. – Beckmann and Thisse noted this point in their chapter in the Handbook of Regional and Urban Economics (1986) on The Location of Production Activities, and proceeded to review results for a broader range of assumptions than either Walter or Leon. – In the Preface to Methods of Regional Analysis, Walter acknowledged Leon’s paper as an example of ‘steps … taken to obtain a better integration of location and production theories.’ • W. Isard, et al., Methods of Regional Analysis, Wiley, 1960. In the Preface, Walter stated the book was conceived and outlined in 1954. Leon co-authored parts of three chapters: – Chapter 5, Interregional Flow Analysis and Balance of Payments Statements, pp. 122-181; – Chapter 6 B, Regional Cycle and Multiplier Analysis, pp. 184-189; – Chapter 8 G, Alternative Interregional and Regional Input-output Models, pp. 344-349 (based on Chenery- Moses) • Footnotes to Chapters 5 and 6 B acknowledge Leon’s contributions. Just how much Leon actually contributed to the book will remain unknown. Regional Science Association • Leon was a participant and contributor to the Regional Science Association Meetings as an author and discussant (1954-56, 1959, 1961-63, etc). In 1963, Walter judged that the RSA was sufficiently strong to hold its meetings independently, which it did from that year forward. • Walter served as President of the RSA for
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Front Matter, Input-Output Analysis: an Appraisal
    This PDF is a selection from an out-of-print volume from the National Bureau of Economic Research Volume Title: Input-Output Analysis: An Appraisal Volume Author/Editor: Volume Publisher: Princeton University Press Volume ISBN: 0-870-14173-2 Volume URL: http://www.nber.org/books/unkn55-2 Publication Date: 1955 Chapter Title: Front matter, Input-Output Analysis: An Appraisal Chapter Author: Raymond W. Goldsmith Chapter URL: http://www.nber.org/chapters/c2862 Chapter pages in book: (p. -10 - 0) Input-Output Analysis: An Appraisal Studies in Income and Wealth Volume Eighteen BY THE CONFERENCE ON RESEARCH IN INCOME AND WEALTH A BEPORT OF THE NATIONAL BUIiEAU OF ECONOMIC BESEABCH, NEW YOPX —S — PUBLISHEDBY PRINcETON UNIVERSITY PRESS, PRINCETON 1955 Copyright, 1955, Princeton University Press L.C. CARDNO.55-5007 Second Printing, 1956 Third Printing, 1982 Fourth Printing, 1968 Printed in the United States of America Input-Output Analysis: An Appraisal NATIONAL BUREAU OF ECONOMIC RESEARCH CONFERENCE ON RESEARCH IN INCOME AND WEALTH NATIONAL BUREAU OF ECONOMIC RESEARCH 1956 OFFICERS Harry Scherman, Chairman Gottfried Haberler, President George B. Roberts, Vice-President and Treasurer W. J. Carson, Executive Director DIRECTORS AT LARGE Wallace J. Campbell, Director, Cooperative League of the USA Solomon Fabricant, New York University Albert J. Hettinger, Jr., Lazard Frères and Company Oswald W. Knauth, Beau fort, South Carolina H. W. Laidler, Executive Director, League for Industrial Democracy Shepard Morgan, Norfolk, Connecticut George B. Roberts, Vice-President, The First National City Bank of New York Beardsley Rumi, New York City Harry Scherman, Chairman, Book-of-the-Month Club George Soule, Bennington College N.
    [Show full text]
  • Lösch, Isard, and the Role of Money and Credit in the Space-Economy David S
    Back to the Future: Lösch, Isard, and the Role of Money and Credit in the Space-Economy David S. Bieri| August, 2016 Working Paper No. 16-04 WORKING PAPER Suite 312, 250 S. Main St. (0922), Blacksburg, VA 24061 www.gfurr.vt.edu | +1 540 231 8320 Back to the Future: Lösch, Isard, and the Role of Money and Credit in the Space-Economy∗ David S. Bieri†1,2 1Global Forum on Urban and Regional Resilience, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA 24061, USA 2School of Public and International Affairs, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA 24061, USA August 2016 Abstract The recent financial crisis has been a powerful reminder that the intersectoral flow of funds is also—always and everywhere—a local phenomenon with real effects. Yet, the con- temporary canon of regional economic theory has enshrined the classical dichotomy, treat- ing the spheres of money and production as analytically distinct. Consequently, the current literature has little to say about monetary phenomena and their spatial consequences. The widespread disengagement of regional scientists with respect to issues of money, credit and banking represents a radical break with the discipline’s intellectual origins over half a century ago. This chapter re-examines the monetary content of some of the foundational works in re- gional science. In particular, I argue that August Lösch and Walter Isard, the former a student of Joseph Schumpeter’s and the latter a student of Alvin Hansen’s, both represent important branches in the long lineage of 20th century continental and U.S. monetary thought, respec- tively. In doing so, this chapter also outlines key elements of a research agenda that reengages with regional aspects of money and credit, casting them as central pillars of a Lösch-Isard synthesis.
    [Show full text]
  • The Review of Regional Studies
    (2017) 47, 121135 The Review of Regional Studies The Official Journal of the Southern Regional Science Association Fellows Address‒Memphis, Tennessee, March 31st, 2017 56th Meetings of the Southern Regional Science Association Searching for Isard’s Regional Essence* Doug Woodward Darla Moore School of Business, University of South Carolina, USA Abstract: At the inception of the Southern Regional Science Association in the early 1960s, Walter Isard maintained that areal regions are fundamental units of observation and analysis. To this day, understanding the special significance of regions motivates much of our empirical research. In my address, I argue that regional fixed effects estimates from regression analysis can help us comprehend the distinctive character of areal units. This paper offers two examples from my research. First, I present the results of a regression model that explains regional knowledge spillovers in U.S. counties. Santa Clara County (Silicon Valley) has by far the largest fixed effect estimate of any U.S. county. Overall, the county level fixed effects for knowledge spillovers follow a pattern of rapid exponential decay. Next, I inspect neighborhood fixed effects taken from a hedonic housing price model of the Charleston, South Carolina region. The results suggest a clear preference for coastal proximity as reflected in house prices. For neighborhoods away from the coast, the fixed effects estimates exhibit a steep decline toward zero. Like Silicon Valley’s regional advantage in knowledge, beachfront neighborhoods benefit from an exclusive, time invariant advantage that is hard, if not impossible, to replicate in space. Keywords: regional fixed effects, high-technology development, housing JEL Codes: R10, R23, R30 1.
    [Show full text]
  • 1 Walter Isard, 1919-2010 the Founder of the Field of Regional Science and Its Most Prominent Scholar in Industrial Location
    Walter Isard, 1919-2010 The founder of the field of Regional Science and its most prominent scholar in industrial location theory and methods of regional analysis, Walter Isard established an interdisciplinary movement on regional and urban research in North America, Europe and Asia. Through his determined leadership and insistent encouragement, Isard enabled economists, geographers, sociologists and urban and regional planners to construct theories of urban and regional phenomena and apply methods of analysis to the emerging policy issues of the middle and late 20th Century. Isard was born in 1919 in Philadelphia to immigrant parents. By 1939, he graduated with distinction from Temple University and entered Harvard University as a graduate student in the Economics Department, then the leading department in the world. There he developed a research interest in building construction, transportation development, the location of economic activities, and the ensuing cycles of growth and stagnation that characterized the 1920-1940 period. In 1941-9142, he studied at the University of Chicago, where his interest in mathematics was rekindled. Subsequently, he was affiliated with the National Planning Resources Board, while quickly completing his Ph.D. Subsequently, he served in the Civilian Public Service as a conscientious objector; during the night hours at the state mental hospital where he was assigned, he translated into English the works of the German location theorists, including the works of August Lösch and Andreas Predöhl. During the post-war years, Isard accelerated his studies of industrial location theory, while joining W. W. Leontief’s interindustry research project at Harvard, and honing his teaching skills at various part-time appointments including the first course on location theory and regional development ever taught at Harvard’s Economics Department.
    [Show full text]
  • In Memoriam: Walter Isard (19192010)
    doi:10.1111/j.1435-5957.2011.00353.x In memoriam: Walter Isard (1919–2010) David Boyce1* 1 Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois 60208 USA (e-mail: [email protected]) Walter Isard in 1989 Photo courtesy of Peter Isard Just days before the 57th Annual North American Regional Science Meetings, Walter Isard, Professor Emeritus of Economics and City and Regional Planning at Cornell University, died at age 91 on November 6, 2010 at home in Drexel Hill, Pennsylvania. Walter Isard was the founder of the field of regional science and its most prominent early scholar in industrial location theory, methods of regional analysis and general social science theory. With his determined leadership, the interdisciplinary field of regional and urban research flourished in North America, Europe and Asia. Isard encouraged economists, geographers, sociologists and urban and regional planners, and occasionally even civil engineers, to ignore * Archivist, Regional Science Association International. © 2011 the author(s). Papers in Regional Science © 2011 RSAI. Published by Blackwell Publishing, 9600 Garsington Road, Oxford OX4 2DQ, UK and 350 Main Street, Malden MA 02148, USA. Papers in Regional Science, Volume 90 Number 1 March 2011. 6 D. Boyce disciplinary boundaries, construct theories of urban and regional phenomena and apply methods of analysis to the emerging urban, regional, transportation and environmental policy issues of the mid and late twentieth Century. Walter Isard was born on 19 April, 1919 in Philadelphia to immigrant Jewish parents. Majoring in mathematics, he graduated with distinction from Temple University in 1939, and then enrolled in the Economics Department of Harvard University as a graduate student.
    [Show full text]
  • Reconstructing Political Economy: the Great Divide in Economic Thought/William K.Tabb
    Reconstructing Political Economy Reconstructing Political Economy offers an original perspective on the questions the great economists have asked and looks at their significance for today’s world. Written in a provocative and accessible style, it examines how the diverse traditions of political economy have conceptualized economic issues, events and theory. Going beyond the orthodoxies of mainstream economics, it shows the relevance of political economy to debates on the economic meaning today. This book is a timely and thought provoking contribution to a political economy for our time. In this light, it offers fresh insights into such issues as modern theories of growth, the historic relations between state and market, and the significance of globalization for modern societies. Reconstructing Political Economy will be of great interest to economists, political scientists, and historians of economic thought. William K.Tabb is Professor of Economics and Political Science at Queens College and the Graduate Center of the City University of New York. He is the author of The Japanese System: Cultural Economy and Economic Transformation, The Political Economy of the Black Ghetto; and co-editor of Instability and Change in the World Economy. Contemporary Political Economy series Edited by Jonathan Michie, Birkbeck College, University of London Reconstructing Political Economy The great divide in economic thought William K.Tabb London and New York First published 1999 by Routledge 11 New Fetter Lane, London EC4P 4EE Simultaneously published in the USA and Canada by Routledge 29 West 35th Street, New York, NY 10001 Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group This edition published in the Taylor & Francis e-Library, 2002.
    [Show full text]
  • Economic Geography
    Economic Geography During the height of the ‘quantitative revolution’ of the 1960s, Economic Geography was a tightly focused and specialized field of research. Now, it sprawls across several disciplines to embrace multiple theoretical, philosophical and empir- ical approaches. This volume moves economic geography through a series of theoretical and methodological approaches, looking both towards the future and to the discipline’s engagement with public policy. Economic Geography covers contributions by selected economic geographers whose purpose is to help explain the interconnection among all forces that trig- ger societal change, namely the ever-changing capitalist system. The contributors record changing foci and methodologies from the 1960–1980 period of quanti- tative economic geography, the 1980s interest in understanding how regimes of accumulation in a capitalist world construct spaces of uneven development, and how the 1990s literature was enriched by differing viewpoints and methodolo- gies which were designed to understand the local effects of the global space economy. In the new century, the overwhelming response has been that of bridg- ing gaps across ‘voices within the sub-discipline of Economic Geography’ in order to maximize our understanding of processes that shape our social, political and economic existence. Contributors also highlight what they see as the chal- lenges for understanding contemporary issues, thus putting down markers for younger researchers to take the lead on. Through a collection of 20 chapters on theoretical constructs and methodolo- gies, debates and discourses, as well as links to policymaking and policy evaluation, this volume provides a succinct view of concepts and their historical trajectories in Economic Geography.
    [Show full text]
  • Location, Regional Growth and Local Development Theories
    View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk brought to you by CORE provided by Firenze University Press: E-Journals AESTIMUM 58, Giugno 2011: 1-25 Roberta Capello Location, Regional Growth and Local Development Theories Dipartimento BEST Politecnico di Milano Piazza Leonardo da Vinci 32 The paper provides a survey of the rich number of theo- ries and models developed by regional economics over the 20133 Milano last fifty years. The paper moves from location theory, to e-mail: [email protected] regional growth and local development, up to the most recent local growth theories, giving emphasis to the role Parole chiave: tecniche di ricerca in in which space is conceived in the different approaches, banche dati; teorie della localizzazio- and showing how regional economics moves from “space” ne; teorie della crescita regionale e to “territory” when space is included as an economic re- dello sviluppo locale source and as an independent production factor, a genera- tor of static and dynamic advantages for the firms situated Keywords: location theories; regional within it. growth and local development theories 1. Space in economic theories Space influences the way an economic system works. It is a source of economic advantages (or disadvantages) such as high (or low) endowments of production factors. It also generates geographical advantages, like the easy (or difficult) ac- cessibility of an area, and a high (or low) endowment of raw materials. Space is also the source of advantages springing from the cumulative nature of productive processes in space: in particular, spatial proximity generates economies that reduce production costs (e.g.
    [Show full text]
  • Evaluation of Interregional Input-Output Models for Potential Use in the Mcclellan-Kerr Arkansas River Multiple Purpose Project Impact Study 6
    "SUB m tiW TO CHANGE c - / EVALUATION OF INTERREGIONAL MODELS FOR POTENTIAL USE I McCLELLAN-KERR ARKANSAS RIVER PROJECT IMPACT STUD M ÏS S O t kp H O M A s|^^oOtOGAH « « mAMA\ReP°rt Subm«i INGINEER INSTITUTE FOR WATER RESOURCES Kingman Building White River IWR Contract Report 74-6 LIBRARY JUL 775 Bureau of Reclamation Denver, Colorado UNCLASSIFIED N BUREAU OF RECLAMATION DENVER LIBRARY SECURITY CLASSIFICATION OF THIS PAGE (When Date Entered) 92069985 REPORT DOCUMENTATION PAGE 92069985 s 1. REPORT NUMBER 2. G O V T A C C E S S IO N N O 3. R E U IWR Contract Report 74-6 5. TYPE OF REPORT & PERIOD COVERED 4. T I T L E (and Subtitle) & Evaluation of Interregional Input-Output Models for Potential Use in the McClellan-Kerr Arkansas River Multiple Purpose Project Impact Study 6. PERFORMING ORG. REPORT NUMBER 8. CONTRACT OR GRANT NUMBERS 7. A U T H O R (a) Ungsoo Kim, Ph. D. , Research Associate C on tract r No. DACW31 -72-C-0059 AME AND ADDRESS to. PROGRAM ELEMENT, PROJECT, TASK 9. PERFORMING ORGANIZATION N AREA & WORK UNIT NUMBERS Institute of Social and Behavioral Research The^ Catholic of A m e ric a Washington, D. C. 20017 _________________ , 11. CONTROLLING OFFICE NAME AND ADDRESS ,12. REPORT DATE US Army Engineer Institute for Water Resources ^August 1974 __________ Kingman Building 13. NUMBER OF PAGES F o r t B e lv o ir, V a. 22060 ________________________ 102 14. MONITORING AGENCY NAME & ADDRESSfff different from Controlling Office) 15. SECURITY CLASS, (of this report) UNCLASSIFIED 15a.
    [Show full text]
  • Appendix A: Internationalization of Architectural and Engineering (A/E) Firms
    Appendix A: Internationalization of Architectural and Engineering (A/E) Firms Background Interviewee’s information Company Designation Name Role Years of experience Contact Telephone number Email address Interview Location Time Discussions Please note that The Organization refers to the collective units of main and field- offices while The firm refers to the branch office which is away from the headquarters. S/no Questions and aims Reference (and rationale) Internalization and Strategic models 1 Please describe your organization and Dunning’s Eclectic Paradigm firm’s background in terms of ownership, (OLI and distance) locational and internalization (OLI) factors. How does flight-distance influence OLI factors? (continued) L.C. Peh and S.P. Low, Organization Design for International Construction Business, 325 DOI 10.1007/978-3-642-35164-8, # Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2013 326 Appendix A: Internationalization of Architectural and Engineering (A/E) Firms (continued) S/no Questions and aims Reference (and rationale) 2 Please describe your organization and firm’s Porter’s Diamond Theory (Diamond strategies and structures due to rivalry, and distance) factor and demand conditions, supporting and related industries, government intervention and chances. How does flight-distance influence the Diamond’s factors? 3 Please describe your organization and McKinsey 7S (Change in strategies due firm’s strategic management model to distance) and strategic thrusts. Discuss isomorphism of firms Discuss embeddedness. Internationalization: Reasons for overseas
    [Show full text]
  • The Analysis of Location, Co-Location And
    CESIS Electronic Working Paper Series Paper No.67 THE ANALYSIS OF LOCATION, CO-LOCATION AND 1 URBANISATION ECONOMIES Börje Johansson2 and Ulla Forslund 3 May 2006 1 Status of the paper: The paper has been written as a contribution to a Handbook of Research on Clusters 2 CESIS, Centre of Excellence for Science and Innovation Studies, The Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm and JIBS, Jönköping International Business School. Email: [email protected]. 3 JIBS, Jönköping International Business School. Email: [email protected] THE ANALYSIS OF LOCATION, CO-LOCATION AND URBANISATION ECONOMIES Börje Johansson and Ulla Forslund Abstract This paper provides an overview and critical assessment of co-location and clustering in space. Basic location conditions include accessibility to customers, input suppliers including knowledge providers, and regional endowments. A distinction is made between slow and fast location adjustments. In a basic model, it is shown how distance sensitivity and scale economies generate self-reinforcing location externalities. Variations of the same model are employed to illuminate how urbanisation economies can stimulate co-location and clustering. One model variant is designed to examine how innovation activities also can be influenced by urbanisation economies. The paper concludes that a set of basic principals form the basis for localisation and urbanisation economies. However, there remains a challenging gap between model predictions and empirical observations. JEL classification: L14, L29, O30, R30 Keywords: Location, co-location economies, agglomeration economies, urbanisation economies 1 1. INTRODUCTION Location analysis has two major perspectives. The first is concerned with where to place a given economic activity or facility, defined as optimization problem, where the properties of the economic environment are taken as a given fact.
    [Show full text]
  • Quantitative Geography
    Quantitative Geography Alan T. Murray School of Geographical Sciences Arizona State University Tempe, AZ 85287-5302, USA (Email: [email protected]) Prepared for: Journal of Regional Science’s 50th Anniversary Conference April 23-24, 2009 Federal Reserve Bank of New York April 17, 2009 Abstract This paper provides an overview of quantitative geography, and the methods that have come to define it. This is part of a conference marking the 50th anniversary of the Journal of Regional Science. Six broad categories are used to discuss the range of methods found in quantitative geography: geographic information systems; airborne sensing (global positioning system, photogrammetry and remote sensing); statistics and exploratory spatial data analysis; mathematics and optimization; regional analysis; and, computer science and simulation. Particular emphasis is given to the state of the art in each area, with discussion on major unresolved issues and future research directions. Introduction There have been many overview texts on quantitative geography, most somewhat dated at this point. Perhaps the most recognized is that of Wrigley and Bennett (1981), at least in terms of citations in the literature, but others include Taylor (1977) and Cole and King (1968). Of course, there are also the works cast under the headings of “spatial analysis” (Berry and Marble 1968), “statistical analysis” (King 1969, Clark and Hosking 1986) and “locational analysis” (Haggett et al. 1966) that could/should be included in this area as well, certainly touching upon major components of quantitative geography. Quantitative geography has been defined by Fotheringham et al. (2000) as consisting of “… one or more of the following activities: the analysis of numerical spatial data; the development of spatial theory; and the construction and testing of mathematical models of spatial processes.” This is a reasonable definition/characterization, though the creation of spatial information and knowledge may be missing.
    [Show full text]